Red – Page 6 – @sommeligay

Women in Wine, Ventosa Vineyards, and Anthony Road

September 10, 2015November 16, 2015 by Josh

After the WBC15 pre-excursion to Villa Bellangelo, we travel to our living quarters. We’re handed our room keys as we get off of the bus, and the front desk worker stops me as I walk through the lobby. She specifically stops me asks if I’m Josh – I say yes, obviously, and I wonder whether or not it’s because she’s secretly an undercover agent, and that this is the beginning of some really exciting spy film where I would discover my undiscovered penchant for leaping off buildings and using my wine knowledge to save the world. God, I need water.

I know she’s asking because there was some sort of logistical airplane snafu with my friend Kayla (who was also a scholarship recipient last year) which led to her having to get someone to drive her up to Geneva from Elmira.… read more

Wine tastings on buses and Villa Bellangelo

August 31, 2015November 16, 2015 by Josh

Was my current alarm set to that one Vampire Weekend song on which I clicked snooze too many times? The answer is maybe. Anyways, I’m told I have like half an hour before we leave for breakfast.

It’s finally the day that the pre-excursion for the Wine Bloggers Conference 2015 starts – so Christine, Amy, Leeann, Sujinder and I pack up, eat breakfast at a place (i.e. delicious instant-regret-omelettes), and drive back to Elmira where some of us enjoy Gin and Tonics at the airport to revitalize our brains. Some fellow bloggers began arriving: some remember that we met last year, where I was plagued by lots of self-doubt more than the capacity to retain faces and names (ugh what a great start), and we all board the pre-excursion bus on the way to Villa Bellangelo.… read more

Tasting · Travel

Finger Lakes: first spits and fire pits

August 26, 2015November 16, 2015 by Josh

JOSH IS ALONE IN NEW YORK CITY: Day 2

August 21, 2015November 16, 2015 by Josh

Before the Wine Bloggers Conference in a couple of days, I thought it would be a great idea to change it up from the previous night and hang out in New York City by myself for a bit – and perhaps I would meet up with the rest of my Vancouver crew for dinner if I didn’t end up crying by a NYC alley in the fetal position (TRICK QUESTION: Manhattan doesn’t have alleys).

Just a few days ago I signed up for this thing called the Free Tours By Foot: it’s essentially a themed tour in a listed city where you pay however much you think the tour is worth at the end. I’m sure there’s some sort of reverse psychology witchcraft that goes on where you guilt yourself into paying more, but I’m blaming all my thriftiness on the shit Canadian dollar.… read more

Life · Travel

JOSH IS ALONE IN NEW YORK CITY: Day 1

August 17, 2015November 16, 2015 by Josh

So this year, the Wine Bloggers Conference is held in New York, and a small group of us decide to spend some time in NYC as a pre-pre-conference excursion before heading to the Finger Lakes. But it was only literally just a couple of days before our flight to New York that I found out my airplane buddy Donita could no longer go due to a health issue, so besides the couple of Vancouver friends I would meet up with later, I came to the realization that I was going to be mostly alone in a city I recently denounced as being crowded and scary. THIS IS IT, YOU GUYS. GOD IS TESTING ME.

I was late to the interview to my current job because I couldn’t figure out how our own buses work and I’ve lived in Vancouver since I was born.… read more

Tasting

#WBC15 Tinder Wine Session #2

August 16, 2015November 17, 2015 by Josh

I’m pretty sure Mykha’el and I sat at the same place for our second round and we were still relatively pretty empty for a table (which was awesome) but this time we were also with fellow wine baes Brianne and Cory.

Standing Stone 2013 Saperavi (Finger Lakes, New York) $30
Deep purple. Lots of compelling dark berry fruit and some plum. Peppery and bunch with a curvy body and soft structure. Fruity depth and very satisfying. “My Boxer” by Oh Land? Apparently the only winery in the Finger Lakes that does a Saperavi.

Standing Stone 2013 Saperavi: punchy and voluptuous and all about that bass 'bout that bass @SSVNY #WBC15 pic.twitter.com/qpfePDMz9w

— campari-ana grande (@sommeligay) August 15, 2015

Fox Run 2012 Lemberger (Finger Lakes, New York) $21
Stinky, perhaps a bit reductive.… read more

Life · Quaffing · Tasting

Post-Pride and Pre-WBC15 Wine Dump

August 6, 2015November 16, 2015 by Josh

Bit of a tasting note dump between the Maryland trip and Vancouver Pride, since I am not drinking for a week in a simultaneous effort to recover from Vancouver Pride antics and to prepare my liver for the Wine Bloggers Conference in New York. Huzzah. I am surprisingly doing well so far, and I have stepped into the world of non-alcoholic beer.

(I’ve failed miserably.)

There’s not really a common thread here, except for maybe the general Old World?

I’ve also found out that my travel buddy had to cancel her attendance to both the Wine Bloggers Conference and our pre-conference trip to NYC due to a health issue, so I’m semi-alone in NYC (semi- because I’m meeting up with some Vancouver friends still) and I’m a little scared but also super excited. … read more

Life · Quaffing · Travel

Josh Likes Maryland: Part 3

August 5, 2015December 8, 2015 by Josh

We were literally scheduled to just chill out and have an appropriate lazy Monday the day after New York City, though some of the family opted to go visit some large church or something. Monkeying around seemed much more fun, though I can say I went to a Chipotle for the first time ever, so technically I accomplished something. #goals

We ventured back out to DC the next day, getting as close as we could to the White House because how can you not, and then we had a big nerdy day at both the Freer Gallery of Art and the Museum of National History, both of which I loved. You can only retain so much information, but hey: cool rock exhibits are pretty and science is awesome, kids.… read more

Life · Quaffing · Tasting · WSET Diploma

Exams and grand slams

June 10, 2015November 16, 2015 by Josh

It’s done. I’ve completed (or performed, rather, since we’ll find out whether or not I’ve actually completed the thing come September) the last unit I needed to complete for the WSET Diploma! I’m tempted to prance around maniacally while getting drunk really quickly on this fantastically sunny day, but September will have to wait for even bigger celebrations, I suppose. Which calls for fancy Cava instead of Champagne, maybe?! I mean, no, of course, but I bought this already so let’s.

In a couple of days I envision myself in a state of academic and mental paralysis. I will have a weird need to study, and I will give in. Someone make me watch a TV series or something!

Alta Alella “Laietà” 2011 Gran Reserva Brut Nature Cava (Cava, Spain): Fresh, lemon curd, some earth, yeast, blanched almonds, and sea spray.… read more

Life · Tasting

Sun rays and Vouvrays

May 11, 2015November 16, 2015 by Josh

Studying for the upcoming diploma exam in around 4 weeks is just as terrifying as it is satisfying, with each strikethrough on my study planning sheet providing temporary pleasure before moving on to another daunting section, though I was particularly proud of myself for the past few sections on Australia and USA. The sun’s also begun to commit to bright and humid days, which means more exposed skin and mostly, weekend days that equate to regret when I’m literally rolling around in my bed with my laptop trying to relax and study at the same time. And it works – almost too well, to the point where I’m questioning why my growing talent for memorizing soil types isn’t better put to use by, say, memorizing blood passageways in the human body, or types of diseases that affect the brain.… read more